And why it is flawed
In an earlier article posted to this site, i talked about how the self has been relegated to the service of the collective spirit, the system, the society. Such thoughts are not uncommon; there exist several manifestations in mainstream art: movies: Fight Club, The matrix(recall the last scene in particular);Books: Ayn rand's essays on Capitalism and objectivism;Music: Pearl Jam's Do the Evolution. Come to think of it, and you will recall such examples in any form of expression you are into.
It is very important to take a balanced perspective at this point. Hypothise this: The individual is essentially two entities: the self and a personality. Some people are too servile in their attitude: they focus too much on their personality, which is essentially an interface with the external world. Others are too selfish..they see nothing but the self.Noone exists at either end. You simply cannot find a human being who lacks one of the two completely.
A man/woman who is completely selfish simply cannot survive, as it is necessary for all of us to interact with the world for basic and then progressively advanced needs of survival. Even Ayn Rand's perfect man made so many compromises that he couldnt have been perfect anymore: once you move off an inch from the extreme, you become in-between. Jim Morrison once said:"The extremes are interesting, everything in-between is just that- in-between"( Slightly out of context but he WAS a great character). The very fact that we all had to have so much of education and other's ideas to realise that self if the ulimate aim (possibly) means that we've been forever damned.
Through all my experience in life, i have become more and more convinced that perfection is an optimum, in any context. So my second hypothesis is this: Perfect life is about leading a life at the optimal level of the two. Much as you would like to, we cannot live being completely selfish. To be able to serve yourself, you have to serve others!
I am not posting my complete article, maybe in a sequel,maybe based on your response.
What stayed with you?
A line that lingered, a feeling, a disagreement. Great comments are as valuable as the original piece.